Two Marines who refused the Pentagon's anthrax vaccine have been deployed to the
Middle East and will face punishment later, officials said.

The 1st Marine Division has decided to defer punishment and will allow them to
serve in "duties that will not ... unduly jeopardize them or their fellow
Marines," said division spokesman 2nd Lt. Eric Knapp.

One of the Marines has been identified as Lance Cpl. Kevin Lotz, 21, a machine
gunner at the Twentynine Palms Marine base, whose division is headquartered at
Camp Pendleton. The other Marine's identity was not immediately available.

Lotz's mother, Kathleen Lotz, of Arcata, said she's disappointed that her son
faces punishment when he returns from the combat zone.

"I
can't believe they would put a Marine on the front lines, fighting a war and
risking his life every day, then bring him home only to court-martial him and
give him a bad conduct discharge," she said. "All I can do as a mother is pray
for his safety while in Iraq and trust in the history of honor the Marine Corps
has."

All other Marines in the division have been vaccinated, Knapp said.

The Marine Corps in past years has court-martialed others who refused the
vaccine for disobeying a lawful order. At least 37 service members were tried in
the late 1990s for refusing the vaccine when it was first mandated.

Cpl. Anthony Fusco, a Marine stationed at Camp Pendleton, currently faces
court-martial for refusing the vaccine.

The delayed punishment for the two Marines deployed to Kuwait is a departure
from previous procedure, which involved removal from deployment status and quick
punishment.

"Although swift disposition of disciplinary proceedings is preferable in most
instances, it is not unusual for operational commitments to delay such
proceedings, especially when ... related to real-world contingencies," Knapp
said.

The two men have put themselves at risk should there be an anthrax attack,
Marine officials said. The Pentagon has said the vaccination is safe, with
severe adverse reactions occurring in about one in 100,000 vaccinations.

Anthrax is a naturally occurring virus that typically affects sheep and cattle.
Dry anthrax spores, when inhaled, can be deadly to humans . The Pentagon claims
anthrax exposure is 99 percent lethal.

The Bush administration has said that Iraqi president Saddam Hussein has anthrax
and may use it against U.S. troops, which have been gathering in the Middle East
for a potential war with Iraq.